Pembrokeshire Local Health Board yesterday (Thursday) celebrated its first birthday and declared its first year had been a great success.
Health chiefs say the organisation is making big inroads into improving care for the patients in the county. And they add that they will continue to fight for better health care for Pembrokeshire, by freeing up hospital beds, tackling the shortage of dentists and making the new GP contract a priority.
The Local Health Board, which has a budget of around £125m, was set up by the Welsh Assembly in 2003 as part of a nationwide shake-up to the NHS aimed at improving local accountability.
Currently employing 27 members of staff, the Local Health Board looks after all areas of health care, including GPs, dentists, pharmacists and opticians.
Chairman Chris Martin said: "It has been a very busy 12 months and our priority has been maintaining services while improving the quality of care to our patients here in Pembrokeshire.
"It has been challenging, but I am pleased to say that we now have a Local Health Board that is maturing into its role and providing a solid platform to prioritise and modernise our services in Pembrokeshire.
"We have been working hard with our colleagues in primary care, the local hospital and social services to tackle the issues around bed blocking. We need to make sure that the right patients are in hospital at the right time and that they do not stay there longer than necessary."
He pointed out that when the LHB took over, at any one time up to 29 beds - equivalent of one hospital ward - were taken up by patients who no longer required acute hospital care. That figure has now more than halved.
He added: "We are also aware of the acute shortage of NHS dentists in the area and are working hard to improve the situation. We are providing grants to try and attract newly-qualified dentists to come and work in the county and we are currently trying to get funding for a peripatetic dentist so that those people living in rural areas will be able to have dental care closer to home."
He added that the Local Health Board was working closely with the county's doctors to ensure a smooth transition to the new contracts, which would radically change the way GPs work.
He said: "The implementation of the new GMS contract will be a catalyst for significant modernisation of the NHS and the Local Health Board is exploring all the opportunities to optimise and improve services delivered by GPs."
Finally, he encouraged everyone to take part in the development of the Health, Social Care and Well-Being Strategy, which would provide the vision for future services in Pembrokeshire.